Korea Forest Service
Advances into World

Korea gains kudos in reforestation

Korea's success in reforestation is highly noted around the world. Over-exploitation of forest resources during the Japanese colonization and the Korean War caused severe devastation the nation's forests. The nationwide greening campaign over the next 15 years made it possible for Korea to have the forests of today.
Suh Seung-jin, the chief of Korea Forest Service (KFS) said in an interview with NewsWorld, "Korea Forest Service with its experiences in the past is expanding its scope of activities to the world. We are sharing our technologies in erosion control and forestation with China, Mongolia, Myanmar, Indonesia and other countries that are returning positive feedbacks. This helps step up our national reputation in the international community."The KFS administrator gave a blow by blow recount of priority policies and international cooperation projects, especially the greenbelt plantation project in Mongolia during the interview.
Question: I believe that Korea Forest Service was established in 1967. So this year is its 40th year. Could you briefly introduce Korea Forest Service and the works done in building the beautiful forests that we have?
Answer: Korea Forest Service was established on January 1, 1967 in order to facilitate forest rehabilitation. It began its works in forest rehabilitation projects and forest resources development since the first 10-year national forest plan established in 1973. 0.73 million ha of forest was restored and 10 billion trees were planted over 3.5 million ha through 4 rounds of the 10-year programs.
Let me briefly summarize our past long term forest programs. The first (1973~1978) and second (1979~1987) forest rehabilitation plans aimed to quickly restore forest cover with fast growing species and commercial species. Forest operations including large scale erosion control projects helped complete forest re-vegetation.
The third 10-year national forest plan (1988~1997) focused on developing forest resources. According to the public demands, we built recreation forests and implemented profit projects in the mountain villages. The fourth 10-year plan (1998~present) is based on the new paradigm called sustainable forest management (SFM). It addresses different aspects of forestry. We are aiming to enhance the value of forest resources, increase the income of forest-dependent households, and meet the public demands on recreation and cultural activities.
Q: As I know, Korea Forest Service is undertaking a number of projects abroad. What kind international projects are you pursuing?
A: KFS has signed bilateral forest cooperation arrangements with 8 countries, namely Indonesia, Mongolia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and most recently with Russia. We are pursuing various forest projects in close cooperation with their governments. Some of the recent notable projects include the Greenbelt Plantation Project to Combat Desertification and Mitigate Dust and Sandstorms (in Mongolia), projects supporting overseas plantation to secure timber supply, and other projects that promote technology transfer in developing countries.
Q: I heard that the Greenbelt Plantation Project in Mongolia which begins this year will address desertification and dust and sandstorms, or the so-called "yellow dust."Could you tell us more about this cooperation project?
A: During the Presidential visit to Mongolia last May, President Roh agreed to support Mongolia in combating desertification with a long-term government program. The Korean government later established the National Dust and Sandstorm Action Plan and adopted the Greenbelt Plantation Project as one of the key projects.
Unlike the previous ones which were initiated by the NGOs, this project will be led by our agency. Approximately 9.5 million USD will be invested for 10 years until 2016 and we are aiming to plant about 3,000 ha.
I actually had an opportunity to visit Mongolia last September and look around the potential project sites. A group of experts also performed 2 rounds of field surveys and the project plan was established based on their findings. Our agency already attached a high-level official to Mongolia in March as an overall supervisor for the project. And we are planning to hold a grand planting ceremony in June to mark the official commencement of the project. We firmly believe that tree planting is the key to solving dust and sandstorms, or which is commonly known as "yellow dust"in Korea. Korea Forest Service will present a successful model forest through this project and encourage the international community to take part.
Q: It must be unavoidable to face skepticism or question on the effectiveness of the plantation project against desertification. What are your views regarding this matter?
A: I am well aware of the skeptical voices questioning how tree planting could prevent dust and sandstorms. As much as it is the first time to implement such a project, I admit that there could be mishaps or some unsuccessful outputs along the way. Nevertheless all experts acknowledge that planting trees is indeed the fundamental solution to dust and sandstorms as well as desertification.
However, it takes a relatively long time, say 10 to 20 years, to plant the trees and grow them to reach a certain vegetation cover. Therefore, we need to have a farsighted outlook and understand that long term endeavors are necessary in conservation or improvement of the global environment.
If we consider the fact that Mongolia reaches 3,500km from east to west, it is evident that we will not be able to succeed by ourselves. We need to draw out participation from the international community through our model forests.
We will pursue this project as we did with our forest rehabilitation efforts in the 1970s. There will be no overnight successes but I am confident that this project could be the beginning of building rich forests in the Mongolian deserts.
Q: The importance of trees has been emphasized in the recent years with regards to global warming. I guess planting trees overseas is an important issue, as well.
A: Korea Forest Service aims to plant 1 million ha of overseas plantation by 2050. As of 2005, 7 industries have planted 120,000 ha in 7 countries.
The industries face challenges in land availability, uncertainty and time-consuming nature of forestry and these challenges impede the growth of forest investments overseas. So we tried to find a way to secure potential land for plantation on the government level. Fortunately, the long kept cooperative relationship with Indonesia paved a way to secure land availability. The Indonesian government agreed to provide 0.5 million ha for plantation investment of the companies in Korea.
Just to give you an idea, 0.5 million ha is an area 8 times larger than Seoul, it certainly is not a small area. I would say that this will boost forest investment in Indonesia.
As of now, some 10 companies are undertaking field surveys and feasibility studies. We are expecting the planting operation will take place in 2008.
Q: You mentioned projects promoting technology transfer in the developing countries earlier. Could you please expound on that?
A: Korea has renowned experience and success in forest rehabilitation in the 1970s. FAO and other international organizations were amazed with our work and how quickly the devastated forests were restored.
I believe that now is the time to pass on the technology and the lessons we learned on erosion control and reforestation to the developing countries. We should take the initiative to share our capabilities with the world and step up our reputation in the international community.
Korea Forest Service is currently implementing the "Tree Improvement and Nursery Development Project" and the "Mangrove Restoration Project" both in Indonesia in coordination with KOICA.
The "Tree Improvement and Nursery Development Project" is a 3-year project started in 2005. Activities of the project include development of nursery and experiment forest, training and education programs.
The "Mangrove Restoration Project," on the other hand, aims to restore the ecosystem and contribute to the livelihoods of the local residents. Information center will be established as a part of the project and training programs will be conducted to facilitate the technology transfer.
In addition, Korea was able to strengthen the international human network by hosting a number of training courses on rehabilitation, desertification, and nursery technology. So far, 135 participants from 30 different countries completed the training courses since 2001. I assure you that Korea, as one of the OECD states, will continue to work on supporting projects in forestry for the developing countries.
Q: It would be an understatement to say that Korea-US FTA is a national controversial issue. Does it have any influence or impact on forestry's If so, do you have any measures thereof?
A: Many may not be aware of the forestry sector in the FTA negotiations but there are 354 items including timber products, building stones, and other non-timber forest products.
The trade experts in our agency actively participated in the negotiation process to minimize any impacts that may occur. The tariffs on sensitive items such as chestnuts, pine nuts, dates, and wooden boards are to be phased out over 10 years or longer.
We will try to enhance the competitiveness of delicate products by increasing government aid for industries and distribution structure.
Q: I assume that one of the most hazardous threats to our forests is fire. How much of our forest is lost due to fires and what kind of policies do you have?
A: an average of 508 forest fires occur annually and 88% of them used to happen in the spring season. But they no longer have distinct seasonal pattern due to climate change phenomenon.
Nearly 4,000ha are lost every year due to fires and the economic losses amount to 40 million USD if we include the value of forest's public benefits. As of March, there were 253 fires in 2007 alone burning about 100 ha.
Korea Forest Service has set up "Forest Fire Control Centers"in 300 agencies nationwide. We maintain incident control system by fully mobilizing available resources especially during the highly hazardous period in March and April. The Central Incident Control HQ in Korea Forest Service is in operation 24 hours and helicopters are on stand-by for immediate take-off.
I believe that early suppression is very important in fire control. About 6,000 forest fire prevention crews and 4,500 fire guards were recruited in connection with increasing employment opportunities. Our Forest Aviation Headquarters is equipped with 48 helicopters and they are stationed in 8 regional aviation stations.
Q: Your catch phrase "healthy forest, rich mountains, happy people"caught my eyes. What are your future plans to keep the forests healthy?
A: Our agency will focus on building rich forest resources and maximize the diverse values of forests based on sustainable forest management. I expect that providing incentives for public benefit values will encourage forest management and investment. The focus will no longer be in planting trees but rather in developing economic and environmental values of forests. We will continue our works in providing quality life with the healthy forests. More urban forests and recreation forests will be established to share forest service with the public. I am looking forward to expanding forest industry based on bio-technology and environment technology, as well.
I believe that balanced conservation and use of forest resources is the key to sustainable forest management. We will keep on conserving ecosystem and protecting forests from fires, pests and diseases and will encourage environment-friendly forest practices.
As you know, the forest and environment problems have become an important global issue today. To this end, Korea Forest Service will not only continue to work in close cooperation with current partners but also seek new partners and expand cooperative relation in forestry.
I am confident that our forest technology and projects will contribute to the global environment. nw

Suh Seung-jin, administrator of Korea Forest Service